Wati wrote:Ill grab lots of AAs before I hit 72, but then Id like to try some beam kiting.
Is it still valid, or is it nerfed, or was it never used by Mages?
Any suggestions on zones where you could try this out at lvl 72?
Even if this isnt really worth the time id like to try it out...
Beam Kiting
Very similar to Quad Kiting, Beam Kiting involves use of a specific wizard spell (e.g. Cone of Cold?) which fires a directional blast radiating in a cone shape from the caster and can hit an unlimited number of targets. This technique can be used on non-summoning NPCs to kill as many at a time as the caster can get chasing him.
This technique is considered by many to be an exploit of game mechanics similar to the now defunct Shakerpaging and a nerf/fix is expected at some point in the not-too-distant future.
With the launch of Secrets of Faydwer, many beam type spells now have a limit of 8 targets. While Beam kiting is still a viable technique, it's no longer at the same level that it was
Quad Kiting
Mostly the domain of Druids and Wizards, quad kiting involves killing four NPCs at roughly the same time. The goal is to gather up four NPCs and snare all of them, then run circles around them until they are basically on top of each other. The kiter then gets some distance and casts a targeted AE on one of the mobs, the AE will be hitting it's max number of mobs and therefore becomes a very efficient damage/mana cost way of kiting.
Our beam though is a bit different than the wizard beam. Our beam is from what I can tell made to work more closely with our pet tanking instead of kiting. Reason I say that is that the wizard beam spell is an instant cast when ours is 3 seconds.
Differences:
Wizard Beam
1338 Mana cost
Instant Cast + 12 second recast
2376dmg at rk1
-50 Fire resist check
Limited to 8 targets
Has a chance to blind the caster
Mage Beam
589 Mana cost
3 second cast with only global recast delay (1.5seconds)
1056 Damage
-10 Fire resist check
Unlimited targets
No chance of causing any ill effect on the caster
When you compare the two it seems that the mage beam has the upper hand, but when you think about when it should be put into kiting play that's where the main difference is.
Wizards as long as they can find mobs that run at regular run speed don't even necessarily need to snare mobs, so they can go pull 8 mobs, and every so often turn around and hit an instant spell, keep running, and rinse/repeat. As long as the wizard is careful, and understands his surroundings, the blind doesn't really affect them very much.
Mages don't have any kind of snare, so when a mage tries to do the same thing, we can pull even more than 8 mobs, but good luck trying to cast the beam on them without interrupting your spell. The risk is higher because you need to actually stop and cast a spell instead of casting it on the run like a wizard. Until you get really good at gauging how far to run, and then stopping completely before starting the cast of the spell you'll probably end up going squish a few times in the trial phase.
That all being said. Yes beam kiting does work for a mage... but the question to ask yourself is, is it worth all of the hassle? Not really personally. It's extremely risky, and with how powerful our pets are, there are plenty of places you can go at every level range to get some decent experience just pet tanking (Splitpaw for your level).
Beaming is great for pharming though that was already mentioned earlier.
